Electric switch



Aug. 29, 1939. A. F. DOTY 2,171,267

ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed Dec. 19, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVENTOR A RNEY Aug. 29, 1939. A. F. DCJTY 2,171,267

ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed Dec. 19, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Afredf oZy BY ATTO N Patented Aug. 29, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE menue swrrcn Alfred F. Doty, Brilltmrt, Gann. Application December 1a, 1m, sei-m No. 116,101

7Clalms.

This invention relates to electric switches, more particularly to switches which are generally secured to the walls of rooms and usually covered with flush plates, and it has for one of its objects the provision of an electrically operable device for actuating the manually operable element of the wall switch, this device constituting a remote control for the switch.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a remotely-controlled operator which may be made as an article of manufacture and, as such, may be attached to the flush plate of any wall switch, regardless of whether the latter is of the two-button or the lever variety, without making any changes therein, whatsoever.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a device which will not interfere withv the manual operation of the wall switch in the usual manner.

Other objects of the invention will hereinafter appear and be defined in the appended claims;

The uses for which switch-operating devices, made in accordance with my present invention are adapted, are manifold. They may be used for burglar alarms, in which case the opening of a window or a door will result in operating the wall switch in any room where notice of such opening is to be given.l In another instance, the lights of a room or hall may be lighted from a remote location, thus avoiding the necessity of groping around in the dark to find the wall switch, the usual manual operation to switch the light on or oii` being, however, not interfered with.

Another one of the many uses of my improved device may be found in starting an oil burner for .heating a domestic furnace or boiler usually located in the basement of the house, without the necessity of manually throwing its wall switch to on for that purpose; or an ordinary alarm clock may be set to close the circuit of the switch operator at any particular time desired.

Again, there may be instances in which it is desirable to use the operator for throwing the wall switch in the opposite direction, viz: from on" to oi, in which case the position of the operator on the flush plate of the wall switch need merely be reversed.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the device acts directly on the manually movable member of the light switch, that is, either on the manually operable projecting finger piece of a two-position lever switch, or on the buttons of a two-button switch. In its general aspect the principle of the device is somewhat similar to that of a rifle or gun, to this extent: When a rifle is cocked, the hammer is urged to fire by a strong spring which requires considerable manual power to bring the hammer to fullcock position in which it is then heid by the trigger which is so sensitive in action that even the slightest touch may release the hammer for action. In my improved switch operator, the movement of the switch lever, or of the button, will compress a stiif spring which urges a slide member, when released, to throw the lever r the button to its initial position. II'his slide member is, when the spring is compressed, normally nonoperatlve, since it is held against movement by a catch which is strong in action but requires very little effort to release. 'I'he release movement of the catch is effected by electro-magnet means, in the preferred form thereof shown, by the movement of an armature of a magnet which is easily operable by a low-tension current in the circuit of which the operator is a part.

I have shown in the drawings a switch operator which can be easily applied to any flush plate of standard type, without making any changes in the plate, or in the regular switch attached thereto, and which consequently effects a substantial saving in transforming the wall device already in use into a remotely-controlled switch as above outlined. On the other hand, it is evident that this combination may be readily incorporated in a single unit or fully equipped article of manufacture.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a front face view of a standard flush plate applied to a lever wall switch which 'is shown in its oi position, and has my improved device secured thereto and ready to function, the hood which normally covers its mechanism having been removed.

Fig. 2 is a substantially central vertical section of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, on line 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a similar section, on line I of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 shows afractional face view, similar to that shown in Fig. 1, of the operator in a transitory position.

Fig. 6 shows a view similar to Fig. 1, the operator being shown in position after it has performed its function to throw the switch lever u) Non.

Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, show a modification, my improved device being here applied to the two-button type switch, Fig. 7 being a front view, a portion of the hood being broken away. Fig. 8 is a substantially central vertical section illustrating the device in off position. Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the device in "on position, and Fig. l0 represents an exploded view of the parts which, when assembled, form the manually-operable element of the operator.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a standard lever-type flush plate 20, to the rear of which is attached (normally by strap screws a) the body 2| of the switch, having its operating lever 2l shown in olf position 2Ia, and adapted to be thrown into its "on position 2lb either ,"fusual, or by my improved operator tter is actuated by closing an elecmanully when the la tric circuit.

In the preferred form thereof shown, this operator comprises a base plate 22 which is provided with ap turesH matching those of the ush Ypla lll anjd'A therefore permitting the screwsatcr'hold both plates 20 and 22 togther. Also, the lower portion of the base plate 22 may be provided with an aperture to receive an additional wall screw 23 for firmly securing that end of the plate to the wall, this lower portion of the base plate being preferably provided with beveled margins 22a to match the margins 20b of the flush plate and, therefore, making close contacts with the face of the wall to which eured verslyl bffthe witch lever 2l is, when in "ition,'closelyradjacent to and adapted agedlbyvtheiupper end of a slide plate constitutes the.. directly active member i r'throwing the switch lever 2|' andwhich is guided for ln ,tl base plate by a ver- 1rig'llt'lly attached to the L-bent pory theslide2K4;` and is movable in ears ed Tout'fof ft'lebase plate 22 and bent '1y`the'1eto, asI shown.

are fprlovidemfor strongly urging the 25 H1-'it"interment-eosin@ are Sturdy in v c tructio'nganfd yetwithdrawable with a minimumeifrtjso that a.lowtenslonmagnetic cirlo's'ed. fr 'l'hisretainingmechanism is herein shown as singglatclji f zlwlilcnqlspreferably L- andplvoted.,onthebaseplate 22, at 21a. rbrenehI-lb y.n.1'rx1al-lramazes the 11D- r perface 'of a ysmall collar 25a firmly secured to Ithe rod, lthefore:animati 0x1 being such that only little force required. toproject the branch the eige -Q-.fl-.fhe '9011er 15a and; maintain until released. On the other hand, there is provided@ locking member postivelyfpreventi 2 swinging ,its 1branch 2lb Iller.A 125, unlessthis 100ktire asedlv; Inthepresent ore5 liefde,ehvwavassmck lever 28 p1yo ldinterI edlateitsendsiasat 28a,.to the l lllte'lg.. ,.'Ihrf,lowerj end,2'8 bof thelever- 28, i issn iormedhat: whenfthe toward the right to release the collar 25a, no matter how strong the force of the compressed spring 26 may be, because the right-hand face of the latch contacts the left-hand face of the lever end 28h at a point 28o, viz: below the pivot 28a and therefore tends to swing the upper end of the lever toward the left, which however it cannot do as long as such movement is prevented, as for instance by a locking device which v is normally in obstructing position, but may be withdrawn by the closure of the low voltage electric circuit of the operator. as follows:

Securedto the base plate 22, more particularly to ears 22c thereof, is an electro-magnet comprising a pair of pole spools 30 and a gravitative plate armature 3l which controls the latch-releasing movement of the lever 28 and is centrally notched to straddle but clear the rod 25, and which is pivoted at lts'rear edge on a pair of ears 22d, and so arranged that normally its right-hand edge will rest on the top of the lever 28, whose top end however, is notched to provide a lip 28d which is pushed toward the right-hand edge of thc armature by the latch-and-lever organization, as above explained, but cannot pass beyond that point unless the armature has been swung upwardly out of the way, and against the pressuer of a slightly resilient non-magnetic antifreeze blade 32, until it clears the uppermost end of the lever lip, and therefore allows the latter to move to the transitory position shown in Fig. 5, such movement being primarily caused by the force of the spring 2B moving the rod 25 and its collar upward, the latter naturally pulling the latch into the position shown, and thus causing the lover end 28h of the lever 28 to swing toward the right, the lever end 28h having a cam-shaped face 28h to assist in accomplishing this movement, which entails tensioning of the loop spring 29 suciently to keep the adjacent faces of latchv and-lever end in contact with each other.

As soon as the rod collar 25a has passed upward and beyond the latch arm 2lb, the loop spring will immediately and quickly return the latch and lever to their original positions, or rather slightly beyond the same, so that the armature, when released from the magnet, may drop into its now free normal place in the lever notch 28d.

Translating the just described functional movement of the locking mechanism to the main switch lever 2l, it will be readily seen that, when the rod 25 is snapped upward by its spring 26, the slide plate 24 will naturally go with it and therefore snap the lever 2|' from olf to on position, the upward movement of the rod being stopped by the rod pin 25' bringing up against the underside of the upper plate ear 22h (see Fig. 6).

As will now be readily understood, the switch is adapted to be automatically moved from one of its two positions to the other and can be returned to the iirst position by manual actuation of the lever 2|. The switch preferably, as herein disclosed, is still capable of manual actuation to both positions if this mode of operation should become desirable.

Inasmuch as my invention provides a complete and self-contained unit or article of manufacture which requires nothing except the low-tension circuit wires for releasing the mechanically-operated rod to throw the switch lever from oif to on, I have provided an insulated block 33 rmly secured to the base plate and carrying a terminal screw 34 electrically connected by a wire mwithoneend ofthecoilwireofonemagnet spool 30, the coil wires of both spools being oonnected in series by a connection wire m'. and the end of the second coil being, grounded, by a wire 1n" whose end may be soldered to the plate 22 as indicated. 'Ihe insulating block 82 also carries another terminal screw Il, which serves to hold a resilient brush member Il which contacts with the rod collar 24a when the rod 2l is down, and thus grounds that screw on the plate also, thereby completing the ground circuit to the second magnet spool Il. When the rod 2l is going up, the brush contact 24a-I4 will remain intact until the collar 25a is entirely clear of the latch 21, and subsequently opens the magnet circuit at that point, regardless of whether the remote circuit closer, which is connected by feed Wires W, W' with the terminal screws 24, 2l respectively, is in active condition or not.

As above stated, the primary object of the invention is to provide a switch operator which can be made as an article of manufacture, or as a unit which can be easily and quickly attached to any standard type flush plate in use or on sale. without having to make any changes or structural alterations in, the flush plate, its switch, or in the new switch operator which forms the subject of the present invention and one form of which has been fully described above to be used in connection with a lever-type switch and the base plate 22 of the new operator as shown is provided with a central opening which matches the central slot of the flush plate to permit the switch lever 2| to project therethrough for finger manipulation. The base plate 22 also has the two perforations required to permit the use of the strap screws 20a for holding the base plate 22 in place on the flush plate 2|, the upper strap screw 20a being freely accessible, while the head of the lower strap screw will, when the new base plate 22 is in proper position, be disposed under the slide plate 24, and the latter is, therefore, provided with a large hold 24h to give access to the lower strap screw 20a, when .the slide plate 24 is in its depressed position shown in Fig. 1.

To protect the parts of the operator mechanism as much as possible and yet leave room for hand manipulation of the .switch .lever 2|', there is provided a hood 40 which encloses the entire lower portion of the base plate 22 and the parts carried thereby, and which may be secured thereto in any suitable manner, preferably by tabs 4I as shown.

Referring now to the modification illustrated in Figs. '7 to 10 inclusive, the only di'erence from the organization previously described will be found in the manner of pushing the on" button of a two-button switch rearwardly, in contradistinction yto pushing the actuating lever of the lever switch to on, which function is, as above described, performed by the upward movement of the slide 24 acting directly against the underside of the switch lever 2|'. In the modification, the entire mechanism for controlling the slide 240 is exactly the same as before, but it now operates a four arm rock lever, pivotally supported between the two switch buttons and the two arms of which contact the outer faces of the two switch buttons respectively, the central third arm is the one directly operated by the slide 240, and the fourth arm is the manually-operable finger of the rock lever. Referring to Fig. 7, -the slide 240 is movable on the base plate 220, and secured to the slide rod 25, as before, but it is U-shaped or bifurcated to form a pair of spaced legs 240e which straddle the lower or Ion button Il of the switch, and whose upper ends are L-bent to engage the underside of the third arm of the four-arm lever 5I to rock the latter from the position shown in Fig. 8 to that of Fig. 9. In order to meet its several requirements in a practical mechanical manner, the lever Il is built up of several pieces, as illustrated in Fig. 10 and comprising a main body 52 made of vulcanite or hard bre and having a handle or finger piece 52a for hand manipulation. The body is centrally recessed, as at 52h, to receive a two-branch pusher 53 preferably made of metal and having wings 52a, Mb adapted to engage the outer end faces of the push buttons 50, a respcctively. 'Ihe body 52 is flanked at both of its side faces by a pair of similar substantially T- shaped metal platesv I4 whose rear extensions 54a constitute the parts which are engaged and operated by the L-shaped ends of the slide legs 240a. All the several members just described are then assembled and riveted together, as at 52c, to form a solid unit, which may be easily placed in position and pivoted on a pin 55 supported in a pair of brackets 56 which are secured on the base plate 22 of the device, as shown, washers 51 beng preferably employed for maintaining the unit in centralized position on the plate and relative to the slide legs 240a, whose path lies between the pin-supporting brackets 54.

In brief, the usual manner of operating the two-button switch by hand pressure appled to either one or the other of the buttons 50, 50a, to throw the switch to either on or off has now been transformed into the operation of a lever switch, whose actuating lever func'ions exactly the same as that of the regular lever switch shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, and which is similarly manipulated by hand .to throw the button switch to either on or oil'.

Y Likewise, even the outer appearence of the lever switch, when covered by its slotted flush' plate, can be easily simulated by the provision of a. hood 58 which covers the mechanism to such an extent as to leave only the hand-operable finger arm 5| projecting outwardly through a slot provided for it in the front hood plate portion 58a. In other words: 'I'he operation of any two-button switch can be easily and inexpensively transformed into that of a lever switch, regardless of any other function which my improved attachment may be primarily intended io perform, but which may be disregarded and would, in that case, dispense with the side plates 54 and all the remote-control elements previously described.

^ When thus installed, either form of the attachment above described will present a neat appearance, matching in its shape and contour the lines of the flush plate, and will be adapted tor receive a similar or harmonizing surface finish.

I claim:

l. As a new article of manufacture, an attachment for actuating a switch having an apertured flush plate and a manually operable member projecting therethrough for normally operating said switch to either of its alternate positions, said attachment comprising a plate; means for attaching the plate to said flush plate; means slidably mounted on the last-named plate engaging said operating member and movable to alternate positions corresponding to the alternate positions of said switch; means including spring means for normally urging said lastnamed means to one of the said alternate positions to urge said switch to one of its alternate positions; latch means for holding the slidably mounted means in the other of the alternate positions against the action of said spring means; means for locking said latch means in holding position; and electro-responsive means for releasing said locking means thereby releasing said latch means.

2. As a new article of manufacture, an attachment for actuating a switch having an apertured flush plate and a manually operable member projecting therethrough for normally operating said switch to either of its alternate positions, said attachment comprising a plate; means for attaching the plate to said ush plate; means siidably mounted on the last-named plate engaging said operating member and movable to alternate positions corresponding to the alternate positions of said switch; a rod slidably carricd by said last-named plate and operatively connected at one endto said last-named means; spring means normally urging said rod and associated means to one of the said alternate positions; means carried by the opposite end of said rod and adapted to engage latch means carried by said plate for holding the rod in the other of the alternate positions against the action of said spring; means carried by said plate for retaining said latch means in operative position; and electro-responsive means for releasing said locking means thereby releasing said latch means.

3. As a new article of manufacture, an attachment for actuating a switch having an apertured ilush plate and a manually operable member projecting therethrough for normally operating said switch to either of its alternate positions, said attachment comprising a plate; means for attaching the plate to said flush plate; means siidably mounted on the last-named plate engaging said operating member and movable to alternate positions corresponding to the alternate positions of said switch; means including spring means for normally urging said lastnamed means to one of the said alternate positions to urge said switch to one of its alternate positions; pivotally mounted latch means for holding the siidably mounted means in the other of the alternate positions against the action of said spring means; means for locking said latch means in holding position; and means including an electro-responsive means comprising an elec-I tromagnet and an armature normally disposed to hold the locking means against movement, said armature being attracted upon energization of said electromagnet to release said locking means thereby releasing said latch means for movement about its pivotal mounting under the action of the urging means to release the slide.

4. In combination with a switch having a manually operable member for throwing it to "on and off positions, a ush plate covering the switch and having an opening through which the member projects and means for securing the ush plate to the switch, of an attachment for actuating the switch comprising a base plate adapted to overlie the flush plate and be secured in place by the means for securing the iiush plate to the switch; a slide movable on the base plate and having means thereon for engaging the manually operable member of the switch to throw said member to one of said positions; means for urging said slide tothrow the member; a latch for holding the slide against movement by said urging means; and an electro-magnetic mechanism for releasing the latch to permit the slide to move to throw theswitch.

5. In combination with a switch having a manually operable member for actuating the switch to "on" and oil positions; a flush plate covering the switch and having an opening through which the member projects, and means for securing the flush plate to the switch; of an attachment for actuating the switch comprising a base plate adapted to be secured to the exterior of the switch; a slide movable on the base plate and having threon means for engaging the manually operable member to move it to one cf said positions, said operable member being manually engaged and moved into the other position; means for urging the slide into the rst position; a latch for engaging and holding the slide when the latter is moved against the urging means by the manual actuation oi the operable member from the iirst position to the other position; and an electromagnetic means for releasing the latch to permit the slide to move to throw the switch.

6. In combination with a switch having a manually operable member for actuating the switch to on and oi positions, a iiush plate covering the switch and having an opening through which the member projects, and means for securing the iiush plate to the switch; of an attachment for actuating the switch comprising a base plate adapted to be secured to the exterior of the switch; a slide movable on the base plate and having thereon means for engaging the manually operable member to move it to one of said positions, said manually operable member being manually engaged and moved into the other position; means for urging the slide into g the first position; a latch for engaging and holding the slide when the latter is moved against the urging means by the manual actuation of the operable member from the iirst position to-the other position; locking means for holding said 4 latch against movement to release position; and electromagnetic means for releasing the locking means.

7. In combination with a switch having a manually operable member for actuating the 4 switch to "on" and oi" positions, a iiush plate covering the switch and having an opening through which the member'projects, and means for securing the ilush plate to the switch; of an attachment ior actuating the switch comprising 5 a base plate adapted to be secured to the exterior of the switch without altering the mechanical structure of the switch; a slide movable on the base plate having means for engaging the manually operable member, said means being 5, arranged so that the member is accessible for manual engagement and actuation; means for normally urging the slide to move the manually operable member into one of its positions, said member being moved to the other position by 6| manual operation, movement of the member into the other position storing energy in the urging means; a latch engaging the sliding member for holding the slide against movement from said position to which it is manually moved; locking 6 means for holding the latch in engagement with the slide; and electromagnetic means for releasing the locking means, said locking means being so related to the latch that should the electromagnetic means be operated the latch will not 7c hold the slide in the position to which it is manually moved. 

